


Act of Destiny: Story of an Assassin

by FragilexEternity



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Assassins, Blood, Drama, F/M, Minor Character Death, Romance, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-10-01
Updated: 2011-10-01
Packaged: 2017-10-24 05:39:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/259608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FragilexEternity/pseuds/FragilexEternity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When she rises in the early morning, Yori Gotatsu loyally fulfills her duties as a servant in the Hyuuga House alongside her best friend Tara. But by night, Yori works as a deadly assassin, killing the people her master deems fit to die in order to find the identity of the man who took the lives of her parents four years ago. Juggling two separate identies and keeping both a secret is no easy task, yet sorting out her feelings for Hyuuga Neji proves to be a new challenge. Will her heart become torn between her revenge and her love?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Act of Destiny: Story of an Assassin

I ran swiftly and silently, keeping low to the ground and listening intently with my inept hearing for any signs of pursuers. My body, still thrumming from my recent kill, was always prepared for a fight, no matter the situation. My braid beat against my back and the grass crunched under my feet, making the only sounds in the pitch black night. My sensitive ears caught no signs of any followers and I slowed to a swift walk after easing out of my crouch. I cautiously approached the Hyuuga Estate and knelt down to hide within the grass again. Every night I painstakingly timed my return to match that of the Hyuuga Guard that did not possess Byakugan to avoid detection. These ocular-impaired guards had just walked the perimeter in front of me and I halted my breathing, knowing I could not attack a member of the Hyuuga Guard even if by some miracle they did happen to spot me. As soon as they passed, I approached the wall and leapt through my open window without a sound.

I landed lithely inside my room and hurried to grab my silk robe and tied it around my bloody uniform. Once I was sure my blood-spattered clothing was covered, I closed my window, bolted it shut securely with a lock of my own design, and drew the curtains. Careful to make not a sound, I exited my room and entered the bathroom in the servant's quarters. Once the door was locked tightly behind me, I turned on the tap of the shower and waited for it to heat up. I grasped my braid and ran my fingers through the tightly woven plates, freeing my hair from its steadfast grip. As steam filled the small room, I peeled off my robe as well as my blood-drenched clothing and stepped under the boiling stream of hot water, exhaling deeply as it hit my skin.

I glanced at the drain, watching as the water running down into it grew dark red. Letting the steaming water run onto my face and hair, I grabbed the soap and began to work at the dried blood stuck to my body. Then I worked at my hair, taking extra care to wash every infinitesimal bit of blood out of it. When the water no longer shone with scarlet, I turned the tap off and stepped out into the steam-filled room.

Wrapping a fresh towel around my dripping body, I sat on the ledge of the tub and pulled my endless dripping mass of coal colored hair over one shoulder. With my own brush, I worked the tangles from the bottom upward. Content with the fact that no blood resided within my tresses, I pulled on a fresh silk sleeping robe. Once again, I turned on the tap for the bath and ran my bloody outfit under it. The blood that ran off of the fabric was much more than that on my body. It took much longer to rinse out. This was yet another reason to be grateful that the mesh-like material was completely black so that the stains wouldn't show.

I folded the outfit into a dry towel and headed back toward my own room, not making a sound on the paneled wood flooring. My trained ears captured the sounds of the steady breaths and even heartbeats of the others in the Hyuuga Estate. The fabric of my robe swished across my clean skin; my heart rapidly beat in anticipation for an alert person. I reached my room, shutting the door behind me without turning my back to the hallway. Everything went smoothly, just as it did every single night for the past few years.

My bed looked inviting, but I couldn't take up its silent offer to goad me to sleep right at this moment. Being sure to bolt my door, I grasped my sword, Hane, which I had strung over my shoulder after my shower. My muscles were stiff; the result of being overworked, but I ignored the ache. Pulling Hane out of her sheath, I examined the blade. Previously that night, I had clumsily wiped the blood free of the silver blade on my outfit, but my precious weapon was far from clean. It was smudged heavily with dark splotches of dried burgundy. I ran my finger along the blade, checking the serration of it. Finding it rather dull, I knew I would have to take time later on tomorrow to hone it.

After returning Hane to her resting place under the crease in the floorboards and tucking my now clean outfit away to dry in my closet, I finally settled into my inviting bed. My eyelids drifted but my mind was pacing back in forth. I went over every movement I had made tonight, making sure I left no mistakes or witnesses behind. Content with the fact that my work had been clean of errors, I drifted into a deep and undisturbed sleep.

-x

The sound of light, bare footsteps padded toward my door and I tried to keep my eyes closed, hoping to go back into the peaceful abyss of sleep. I recognized the heartbeat and foot patterns of the person steadily approaching my room without batting an eye. I was sure I could identify her in a crowd of a thousand screaming people, if I wanted.

“Go away Tara-chan. Let me sleep,” I whispered breathily, even though I knew my closest and only friend would not hear it. I sighed softly and threw my arms over my eyes, wishing that my relentless headache that never failed to accompany morning’s light would be kept at bay at least for a while.

Three solid taps on the wood of my door only made the pain coursing between my temples increase. "Yori-chan! Yori!" Three more taps followed her voice.

I groaned and freed my face from my pillow, sighing reproachfully when I realized she wasn’t going to let me sleep a single moment longer. I kicked my feet out from underneath the warm protection of my sheets and strode blearily toward my door. As I opened it and yawned stridently, Tara came inside my room on her own accord and walked straight to my window to throw open the drapes I had purposely drawn to keep every ounce of light out. Bright yellow sunlight poured into my room and chased out every shadow of the resounding darkness. I winced and turned to scowl at the blue eyed girl who had woken me up so early in the morning.

"Morning, Yori-san," She grinned and shook her head teasingly at me. "You are the hardest person in the world to wake up."

"We don't even have morning shifts today…" I protested in a groan and plopped down face-first back onto my bed, wishing to just go back to sleep.

She grabbed my ankles and gave me a sturdy tug. "Oh yes we do. Elder Hyuuga-sama changed the orders."

I only grunted and pulled my pillow over my head in defiance, unwilling to believe it.

"Yori, so help me, I will get a bucket of ice water and pour it over your head. Don’t think I won’t,” Tara threatened in a stern voice. I knew she was bluffing, yet the mere thought of ice water being dumped onto my head was enough to get me to my feet.

"Happy?" I inquired, lifting an eyebrow at her and placing my hands on my hips.

She grinned triumphantly. "Ecstatically so," she said sarcastically, nodding toward the door. "Come on. Let's get breakfast before everyone else gets there."

I heard her stomach growl ravenously and her eager smile only widened as she placed her palm over the place where the noise had emitted. "Glutton," I mumbled under my breath, only to cover it with a yawn when she shot me a dark look over her shoulder. She grasped my arm and hauled me along with her before I could protest. I yawned again, feeling more exhausted than usual.

"How can you be so _tired_ , Yori-chan? You retire before any of us do and wake up even later!" She chided in a voice that should be illegal to be used in the morning.

"I wish I had your energy,” I informed her. “You're like a damn bouncing bean morning after morning…" I stifled another yawn.

She raised her thin eyebrow playfully at me and shook her head once, causing her blood-red hair to bounce above her shoulders. "What would you do without me?"

I couldn't contain my yawn any longer and small tears welled at the corners of my eyes as it burst free. Tara groaned and rolled her eyes. "Jeeze, stop already! You got the point across the first time." She shook her head at me again but merely smiled. "I bet if you saw Neji-san, your sleepiness would instantly evaporate.”

As soon as his name left her mouth, I straightened my posture and looked around nervously, hoping that he wouldn't appear out of nowhere as he usually did whenever his name was mentioned.

Tara giggled like a miniature villain that was almost too cute to be dangerous. "I’m going to remember this next time you yawn every two seconds. All it takes is his name to wake you up."

I elbowed her gently, making her stumble. "Not funny," I mumbled as I crossed my arms tightly over my chest.  
She shot me a look that said that she felt otherwise and we entered the servant’s section of the kitchen to receive our own separate breakfast. My stomach made a noise that eerily mirrored Tara’s as she handed me a plate of steaming rice and vegetables. Last night left me starving and I could use every ounce of extra protein I could get. Then, the more I thought about last night, the more my thoughts drifted toward _that_ night four years ago. My appetite instantly plummeted into oblivion. I lowered the plate and looked around the kitchen for an unsalted cracker or two, which I happened to live on crackers when my enthusiasm to eat diminished.

Tara snapped her fingers once in front of my face, diverting my attention back to her. "If you don't eat that entire plate of food within the next ten minutes, I will personally tie you down and stuff it down your throat."

I glared her down as I lifted my chopsticks to my lips. "Have I told you how much I despised your knack to get me to bend to your ever whim lately?" She stuck her tongue out at me as I stuffed a heaping helping of food into my mouth, even though my stomach threatened to protest. I opened my mouth to add something to her small impish action but I noticed that she was no longer paying any attention to me. She ran her hand through her short hair and her eyes took on a glazy look.

I turned toward where she was staring and instantly grimaced. A male servant with a mop-like mess of tangled brown hair stood near the main entrance of the Hyuuga House talking to another male servant that I didn’t recognize. He held some kind of farming tool over his shoulder and Tara sighed wistfully.

“How fascinating it is to watch your obnoxious blue eyes try to dislodge themselves from your skull, Tara-chan.”

Tara’s attention snapped back to me and her face filled with bright red color. “T-they are not trying to pop out of my skull! I-I wasn’t even s-staring!”

I raised an eyebrow at the stuttering girl before me. “Who said anything about _staring_?” I inquired as a traitor smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

Tara fervently crossed her arms. “Who are you to talk? You saw Neji-sama training out back yesterday with his shirt off and dropped the laundry basket on your toe!”

My eyes widened and my cheeks filled with bursting heat. “I-I was—I didn’t – Y-you saw that?!”

Tara playfully smirked at me. “There. We’re even. Now let me look at my Sota-kun in peace, if you don’t mind.”

I resisted the urge to knock her over, my cheeks still burning, and set my eyes on Sota again. With my hands on my hips, I glared daggers at the back of his head. Sota had to be the biggest flirt among the females in the House, and now my best friend had set her sights on him. "I don't approve." I grumbled in a flat tone, desperate to get my say in.

Tara nudged my shoulder, once again donning her ogle-eyes at him. "Oh c'mon, he's not that bad…"  
As if on cue, Sota turned, noticed Tara's gaze, winked at her, and exited the House with the gardening tool in tow.

"I beg to differ!" I said in horror as my best friend squealed to herself, pressing her hands to her flushed cheeks. I gripped her wrist and tugged her away. "Come on, fangirl, you're making me sick to my stomach. We have work to do, remember?"

“Ugh, the last thing I want to see is old Dog-Face,” Tara grumbled to herself in spite of her good mood as we headed towards the female servant’s common room.

The common room was smaller than most of the rooms in the house, but it could hold each and every one of us at once with a bit of room to spare. The room held practically everything a servant girl needed to go about her day in the Hyuuga House. There was a closet filled with a vast amount of cleaning supplies near the door, a trunk filled with extra feminine products in case of monthly emergencies, an endless stock of every type of robe needed, several first aid kits in case any of the medic-nins on hand decided they didn’t want to waste their time with healing us, and a tiny area designated for occasional breaks.

Every morning after breakfast without fail, the female Servant’s Overseer, Inuka stood at the front of the room and read our names and the daily duties we were assigned off of a roster. Inuka was known as Dog-Face to every person in the House because of the way she barked orders at her servants, the way she pushed her nose in everyone else’s business, and because she actually resembled an old, greying dog. She read down the list of names and chores to the gathering group of servants in a yapping voice, only bothering to look up and glare when someone was dumb enough to make a noise of protest.

I sighed softly as Tara and I waited to hear our names be called, just like we did every morning for the past three years.

“Gotatsu, Yori – assist with the cleaning of the Main Hall.”

“Kitsunada, Tara – assist with kitchen duties.”

I groaned internally while Tara’s eyes began to sparkle with glee. For her, kitchen duty meant she could look out the massive window that resided above the main sink and watch Sota farm while she cleaned. I’d have to clean the muck off of the wooden floors in the Main Hall, where everyone walked across.

Several other servant girls that were also assigned kitchen duties approached Tara and I realized it was time to part ways for the day. She waved as she disappeared toward the kitchen with them, towing several cleaning apparatuses with her. I walked over to the supply cabinet and gathered a bucket filled with soapy water and half-heartedly headed out into the Main Hall. Six or seven servants had already begun to scrub at the dirty wood floors, so I took my place among them and slapped the sopping wet rag on the floor to begin cleaning.

Within ten minutes, I had the entire area around my perimeter shining so brightly that you could nearly see my reflection and I smiled boastfully. My fingers were reduced to shriveled prunes but I could care less. My satisfaction at a job well done was enough to atone for the wrinkly mess that had become of my hands. The others and I were just mopping up the water when the doors of the main entrance burst open. All of the servant girls scrambled to their feet trying to get themselves as well as the cleaning equipment out of the way as fast as humanly possible to make way for whoever was coming through the doors. They stood up against the wall with their heads bowed in honor and I rushed to follow suit, only not quite as gracefully. I set my bucket beside me and earned a glare from Inuka, who was monitoring us for the time being.

None other than Hiashi, Hinata, Hanabi, and Neji Hyuuga strode through the doors and headed toward the conference room that was located in the heart of the House. I found my face burning both with embarrassment at my lumbering organizational behavior and at the sight of Hyuuga Neji.

Hiashi's critical eye fell among each and every one of us for a split second and I felt that he was looking directly at me. I glanced up to try and check inconspicuously only to find that he had moved on. Neji passed and I hastily backed up a step, blushing like mad, while trying to make way for him to pass. To my horror, my foot caught my bucket. I gasped, trying to regain my footing, only to slip on the remnants of soap that had been left on the floor. My legs flew into the air as my body hurtled toward the wood below. I emitted a very unladylike squeal as I went sprawling flat on my behind with an unceremonious _thump_. In my struggle, I had unintentionally kicked the bucket upward causing what was left of the soapy water to spill in every which direction, including on my head, which soaked me to the bone. To make my embarrassing situation all the more mortifying, my legs had fallen open-eagle and I hurried to cover myself with my robes as my face heated and reddened like a cherry.

 _Please say I didn’t get water on him. Please, please tell me I didn’t get water on him_ , I begged internally when I realized that Neji had not moved. Finally having enough nerve to pry my eyes open, I raised my head and found myself staring directly into Neji's surprised pale violet ones. His arm, which had been upraised to block his face, had been soaked. His shirt as well as sections of his hair had been hit with a few spots of water. A few feet away, Inuka had gone utterly grey. Her mouth had fallen open in absolute horror at what I’d done. Finally, her horrified gaze met mine and she turned bright red; she was _livid_.

“Gotatsu Yori!” she screeched in a voice akin to a rabid dog, her face shifting from bright red to nearly purple. I cringed, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach.

I got to my feet as fast as my feet would allow and bowed to him, a thousand apologizes spewing from my mouth at once.

“H-Hyuuga-sama!” Inuka sputtered as she rushed forward. “I deeply apologize for this, Sir.” Inuka’s wrinkled hand lashed out to grasp my upper arm rather tightly. “She will be dealt with _immediately_ ,” the Overseer threatened, her grip on my arm causing me to wince.

“Ah, that won’t be necessary. It’s only water,” said Neji at last, who looked highly uncomfortable, like he was almost embarrassed for me.

His deep eyes met mine and I immediately cast my gaze to my feet, namely to my bruised toe which had been heavily assaulted by the laundry basket yesterday afternoon. “Forgive me, Neji-Sama,” I whispered in a bleak voice that was barely audible to even my ears, still unable to meet his eyes. Neji made a small noise in the back of his throat to show that he acknowledged my apology and gently flicked the water off of his hand.

As soon as he headed away and disappeared around the corner, Inuka released me from her death grasp and assigned me to a week’s worth of extra chores without pay. She too vanished from my line of sight. I turned and eyed that disaster-causing bucket with murderous intentions burning within my eyes. With clenching fists and mortification coloring my face, I threw my leg back and kicked that bucket with all the force I could muster into it.

"Damn you!" I cursed as it smashed against the wall opposite me and smashed into several unrecognizable pieces.

All at once, the other servants had paused in their work to stare at me with wide, gaping mouths. A few of them tried to stifle maniacal giggles. As soon as the whispers broke out, I turned and quickly cleaned up the new mess I made, careful to avoid any eye contact.

I wanted to disappear.

Hours later, after every centimeter of the Main Hall had been rendered spotless, I hurried to my room and shut the door behind me, longing for the reprieve that only sleep could bring. I had taken dinner early as to avoid any gossip and laughter about my mortifying blunder with Hyuuga Neji earlier that morning. I didn’t have enough in me to face Tara’s consoling eyes. I collapsed onto my bed and closed my eyes with a weary sigh, knowing that I would need every ounce of sleep I could afford later tonight.

It felt like only a few moments had passed when my alarm sounded and drew me from my blank, dreamless sleep. Every inch of me protested against rousing, but I ignored the fatigue and forced myself from the comfort of my blankets. With a swift glance at my window, I realized that night had long fallen and the rest of the Hyuuga House was either already asleep or headed in that direction. Sure enough, I heard an array of erratic sets of breathing and snores echoing throughout the House.

I ran my hand through the thick mess that had become of my hair and approached my closet in silence. Reaching to the back of the closet, I retrieved my stark black uniform and felt relieved that it had fully dried. I tossed it neatly onto my bed, double-checked my door to make sure it was bolted properly, and turned the light out. It was easier and less suspicious this way, being in the dark. I had the glow of the moonlight to illuminate my task as it was.

Being confident that no one would hear me, I stalked the floorboards until I reached the loose one under my bed and pried it up with a nail I had kept hidden nearby. I pulled Hane from her keep and unsheathed her. The scrape of the metal accompanied the glow of the moonlight well and I felt a familiar tingle inside me, much like the one I had first received when my father had given this sword to me.

Trying to be as silent as possible, I began to hone and polish it until she shone in all her glory, almost new again. I ran my fingers across the blade for inspection and grinned with soundless satisfaction to find it to be deadly sharp. Flesh and bone would be no match for me.  
Plopping down onto my bed, I removed my robe and folded it neatly on my pillow. Using the light of the moon, I slipped into my attire and adjusted it comfortably around my body. The black material was mesh-like and breathable, very easy to move in. During the past three years, I had become very flexible so my clothing had to be able to move in sync with the rest of my body. I tugged on the neck of it, making myself comfortable and then fastened the metal plate guards around my shins and forearms.

I tied the fabricated belt around my waist and slipped on the platform shoes that made nearly no noise when I took a step. I started tying my hair into a tight braid, letting it run along the length of my back. Once I finished tying it, I put my hands into a pair of gloves that had grips along the fingers. They certainly came in handy whilst wielding a sword, especially a katana like Hane. Finally, I picked up my cloth facial mask and slipped it on over my face, feeling complete. I was entirely cloaked in black. I felt morbidly whole, like I had reunited with a lost partner.

My beeper started buzzing as soon as I had settled into place and I grinned malevolently. Gliding toward the window and closing my eyes to listen for any sounds of heartbeats nearby, I slipped out into the night, heading off toward my newest location.

Unsurprisingly, the position of the building was harder to track than I would have thought. Usually, we were given a single slip of paper with an intricate pattern of numbers on it; numbers that contained the crucial address of the location. Annoyingly, I had lost that stupid piece of paper and was trying to track the place by memory.

By the time I fully recalled the set of numbers, I was disastrously late.

I avoided streetlights and kept to the shadows, keeping my eye out for the signal. Finally, along the string of small buildings, the back light flicked off and on once, then twice. I dashed over and barged discreetly through the unlocked steel door.

I was met by the presence of two people.

"Always late, Yori-chan," chuckled Makoto, my reluctant partner who donned a similar outfit to mine, minus the mask that was currently held in his hand. On his back resided two twin blades, shorter than my katana, but no doubt just as deadly.

I eyed him with a detached expression and turned to the man I was more interested in at the moment. My master. He stood against the wall with his arms crossed, looking tense as usual. He wore a crude ANBU mask with three messy slashes cut across it like a giant beast had taken a swipe at him at one time. I got down on one knee, copying Makoto's stance.

"Forgive me, Shishou," I apologized, not even bothering with excuses because I knew they would not be heard.  
He said nothing in response and I grimaced, figuring that I would receive a rash scolding later. Makoto shifted and I reached out just in time to catch the thin leather-bound booklet that he had harshly tossed at me. The Bingo Book. I flipped it open and eyed the name and address circled in red, committing it to memory with a smirk.

Makoto grinned as well, pulling his mask over his face. "Catch ya later, Avenger-san," He told me, using that damn annoying nickname, and disappeared like smoke in the wind. I set the book down and did the same, heading toward my target under the luminous moon.

I may serve in the Hyuuga House as a servant by day but I thrived secretly as an assassin during the night. I killed people for one desired purpose: To find the man that brutally murdered my parents. Shishou withheld that information and I did his bidding so that he would one day tell me what I so desperately needed to know. I would take great pleasure in destroying my parents' slaughterer. I would cherish that moment as if I had been born for it.

But for now, the person's name on that list was my target. He would not live to see another sunrise.

He was _mine_.


End file.
